Telephone attachment



W. M. YOUNG TELEPHONE ATTACHMENT Filed May 23, 1927 Patented Aug. 23, 1927.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM M. YOUNG, OF HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

TELEPHONE ATTACHMENT.

Application filed. May 23, 1927.

My present invention, in its broad aspect. has reference to improvements in attachments for telephones, and it is designed to accomplish the following principal results; first, to reduce the length of the flexible connection, or cord, to the receiver and to place a constant load upon the said cord when the receiver is removed from the hook and placed at the ear thereby to discourage the present tendency to prolong frivolous calls and; second, to complete a contact or connection to central only when the receiver cord is placed under a load as when the receiver is placed to the ear, and as a corollary to this function causing the con nection or contact to be broken when the receiver is negligently set down, i. e., not returned to the hook.

It has been found that considerable disadvantage results from the use of multi-party lines at the present time due to needless prolongation of calls by persons who have no urgent messages to impart or important business to transact. By placing a load upon the cord to the receiver when the receiver is placed at the ear such lengthy and frivolous conversations are discouraged. Hence, the first result above enumerated is an important one. By way of explaining the far reaching advantages of the second result, it is pointed out that when a receiver is negligently left from the hook the line is reported busy or out-oforder when one tries to communicate with the party whose receiver is not hung up. This results in needless expenditure of time and money on the part of the telephone company, and results in confusion on the part of one trying to complete a call. Hence by permitting the contact or connection to be made only when the cord is placed under an intensional load, as by withdrawing it to place the receiver at the ear, simply placing the receiver on the table on which the telephone rests, for instance, will not result in having the line reported busy or out-of-order.

Furthermore, my attachment may be incorporated in conventional telephone receiver and transmitter units without in any way modifying their construction, it being merely necessary to utilize the ordinary base brackets to mount certain elements of my device, the conventional bushing of the trans mitter column for other elements, and the ordinary vertical standard of the hookswitch contact spring for others. Since Serial No. 193,549.

types of receivers and transmitter units vary widely a simple desk set is illustrated in the drawings conventionally, and it is pointed out that any type may be used, as for instance, magneto wall sets; common-battery sets; automatic sets or; permanent magnet and direct-current receivers.

Other and equally important objects and advantages will become apparent as the description of my invention proceeds, but while I have in the present instance defined for the sake of illustration an article of a certain specific form, it will be understood that- I do not desire to limit myself except as may be indicated by the scope of the claims appended hereto and forming a part of this specification.

In the drawings wherein is illustrated an embodiment of my invention Figure 1 is a detail view of my device assembled in a conventional type of telephone receiver and transmitter set,

Figure 2 is a detail view of my device whden in position to complete a connection, an

Figure 3 is a detail of the switch-connection when a receiver is inadvertently left off the hook.

In the drawings wherein like characters of reference are used to designate like or similar parts throughout the several views:

A designates the transmitter of a telephone set, E the column, C the hook-switch, D the receiver, E the switch contact, F the switch-contact supporting standard, G the base, H the receiver cord, and J one of the base brackets. All of the foregoing parts are illustrated conventionally and are common to many types of telephone sets although in some instances the arrangement thereof is slightly different. These parts are not within my inventive concept.

Ordinarily the connection is broken or made by placing or removing the receiver D from the hook-switch G, and the cord H is sometimes several feet in length.

My invention embodies reducing the length of the cord H and attaching the inner end thereof to a properly insulated clip (1) which is attached to one end of a spring (2), the other end of which is attached to the conventional base bracket J of the set. When the spring (2) is retracted as in Figure 1 and the receiver D on the hook some slack as at (3) is permitted in the cord, and the spring when extended, as

in Figure 2", allows the receiver to be placed to the ear but exerts a load on the cord H which discourages prolonged and frivolous conversations.

Attached to a convolution of the spr ng (2) somewhere near the end oi the spring attached to the bracket J is one end of a wire or strand oi material which passes upwardly over an anti-friction roller and into a fibre or insulating tube (6) 1n the hollow column B. The other end of the wire (4) passes over a roller (7) and engages the switch contact E. The tube 6), is supported by brackets (8) on the switchcontact standard F, and the roller (7) is mounted on a bracket retained by the screws which hold the switch contact in place.. The roller is supported in a bracket which is retained in place preferably by a screw (10) which may, and preferably does, engage in the bushing which holds the column in the base.

The wire (4) when the spring is retracted as in Figure 1, normally holds the switch-contact E from engagement with the hook-switch C in which case there is no connection with central. Upon removing the receiver D and placing it to the ear the spring (2) is extended and consequently tne wire is relaxed (as in Figure 2) which permits the switch-contact E to engage the hook-switch C and complete the circuit or connection. This is the position of the parts when the line is. being used. However, suppose the party fails to hang up the receiver D. Such being the case the cord H is relaxed and the spring is retract-ed to pull. the wire to again break the connection, as shown in Figure 3. Consequently when one fails to hang up the receiver the line is not reported busy or" outoforder and much confusion and loss of time and money is prevented.

llVhere required the parts of my invention are formed or insulating fibre, and in order to prevent breaking of the parts, the clip (1) is formed with a collar (11). which prevents its withdrawal through the cord opening, in the base. O'r, a similar result may be accomplished by simply enlarging the clip so that it cannot pass through the opening. It is believed that the operation and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the foregoing, but attention is invited to the fact that it may be quickly and cheaply manufactured from stock parts, and that it may be applied to ordinary tele phone sets without in anyway changing or modifying the-m.

lVhil'e in the foregoing there has been illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification such combination and arrangement of elements as constitute the preferred. embodiments of my invention, it is nevertheless desired to emphasize the fact that interpretation. of the invention should only be conclusive when made in the light of the subjoined claims.

I claim 1M 1. The combination in a telephone receiver and? transmitter set having a switch-contact, a hook-switch, and a receiver, of a receiver cord, a spring engaging the same, and a connection between the spring and the switch-contact whereby when the receiver cord is pulledout to extend the the connection is relaxed to permit the switch contact to engage the hook-switch.

2'. The combination in a telephone receiver and. transmitter set having a switch-contact, a hook-switch, and a receiver, of a shortened receiver cord, a spring engaging the same and normally retracted. when the receiver is on the hook-switch and extended 7 when the receiver is placed to theear' and a connection between the spring and the switch contact whereby when the receiver cord is pulled out by removing the receiver from the hook-switch. to the ear, the connection is relaxed to permit the switch contact to engage the hook-switch. V

3. The combination in a telephone receiver and transmitter set having a switch contact, a hook-switch, and a receiver, of a shortened receiver'cord, a spring engaging the same and normally retracted when the receiver is on the hook-switch, a connection between the spring and the switch contact, said; spring adapted to be extended to relax the connection when the receiver is placed to the ear thereby to complete the contact between the switch contact and the hookswitch, and retracted when the receiver is placed on a support for the set thereby draw the connection to tract the switch-contact to break the contact upon failure to properly replace the receiver on the hook-switch.

4. The combination in a telephone receiver and transmitter set having a switch contact, a hook-switch, and a receiver, of a spring connection between the receiver cord and the switch-contact and effective to break the contact between the hook-switch and switch-contact when the receiver is placed 7 on the hook-switch or misplaced to one side of the set, but normally operative to permit completion of the circuit when the receiver is placed to the ear. 7

5. The combination in a telephone receiver and transmitter set having a base, a standard, a switch-contact, a hook-switch, and a receiver, of a spring connection between the receiver cord and the switch-contact and effective to break the contact between the hook-switch and the switch-contact when the receiver is placed on the hook-switch or misplaced toone side of the set, but normally operative to permit completion of the circuit when the receiver is placed to the ear, and all of said parts except the hook-switch,

and the receiver and a portion of the receiver cord being housed in the base and standard of the set.

6. In a telephone set, means for tensioning the receiver cord when the receiver is placed to the ear, and breaking the connection when the receiver is not returned to the hook-switch, said means including a spring engaging the cord at one of its ends, and at a point adjacent its other end connected with 10 the switch contact.

7. The device as defined in claim 6, and the receiver cord being shortened to place the spring under tension when the receiver is placed to the ear.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature hereunto.

WILLIAM M. YOUNG. 

